A Trustworthy Witness Statement can Play a Substantial Role in the Development of Your NJ Injury Claim
In New Jersey, where the traffic is much more prevalent than anywhere else in the country, there are many motor vehicle accidents. Fortunately for those involved in the accident, these motor vehicle accidents are typically observed by a third-party witness. After we get into an accident, the first thing we do after we call the police, is call our insurance company to report a claim. From this point on, we trust the insurance company to represent our interests against whoever is at-fault. We trust that the insurance company does this for us to be fairly compensated for our personal injuries and our property damage. However, the insurance company is only required to abide by a standard of conduct required by the state; therefore, they are only required to assess the surrounding circumstances of the accident to refute whatever damage must be repaired. They do this in order to protect their own financial interests. Having a third-party witness account of what actually happened is one of the strongest ways to properly represent your interests. The other way is to have an experienced personal injury lawyer advocating for you every step of the way to ensure that you are justly compensated for everything you’ve lost due to the accident.
We at Cohen & Riechelson have over 50 years of experience advocating for accident victims across Princeton, Hamilton, Burlington, Ewing, and towns across Mercer County and New Jersey. If you have been hurt in an accident, call us at 609-528-2596 for a free review of your case.
Details Available from Witnesses
A third-party witness can confirm several crucial facts of your case, such as who is at fault and what actually happened. If it isn’t as cut and dry as this, witnesses can provide information that may lead a judge or jury to believe that you are the victim of a culpable party. Witnesses can also be qualified as experts. Expert witnesses can be especially useful when they can properly assess the same set of facts that the insurance company may also be evaluating.
Lay Witness vs. Expert Witness in New Jersey Accident Claims
A witness differs from an expert witness in that the witness is testifying based on what they themselves have personally observed with their senses. An expert witness testifies based on their expertise in a relevant area to the case, such as engineering, accident reconstruction, mental health problems, motor vehicle safety, highway safety, and the like. Laymen witnesses and expert witnesses can both be extremely beneficial to your case, but if their credibility has been successfully attacked by your adversary, their testimony is rendered useless.
How Can Witnesses Bolster Their Credibility?
Witness credibility is established by different aspects of their relation to the accident. Most often, if the witness has an immediate interest in the outcome of the case, such as whether or not they are one of the named parties of the matter, then obviously, their testimony may be biased. Another important aspect is what exactly they observed. Their observation of the accident and if they witnessed the entire accident may also play a part in what the testimony alleges. What the witness testifies to and how they have arrived at their own conclusions is always open to attack. The only way to ensure a proper defense is to hire an experienced attorney.
Three Critical Ways Witnesses Influence Case Outcomes
Witnesses testify about what they saw. This testimony can have a significant impact on an individual’s claim. While it is true that the more witnesses you have, the more convincing they may be, what is more important is a witness’s credibility. They must be honest, sincere, and believable. A credible witness can affect several aspects of an individual’s claim.
1. Witnesses Can Help Determine Accident Fault
New Jersey is a modified negligence state. This means that a driver may be partially at fault and still recover compensation for their damages as long as they are not more than 50% at fault. If they are more than 50% responsible for the accident, they cannot recover damages. Witnesses can be extremely impactful in helping to determine fault.
When a witness saw what occurred, they are able to recount details such as what each vehicle was doing (if one was stopped and the other was speeding, for example), the colors of traffic signals, and other details that can help determine which driver was at fault. While individuals can recover damages even if they are up to 50% responsible for the accident, it is preferable to prove the other driver was completely at fault so the individual can recover as much compensation as possible. Witnesses can help prove this.
2. Witnesses Can Back Up Your Version of Events
Most people who are involved in an accident have a very clear picture of what happened – or so they think. One driver is convinced they were backing out of their space first and the other driver didn’t look and backed into them, while the other driver is convinced that they were backing out first. This presents a problem for claims adjustors, judges, and juries. If both parties are determined they know what happened, but their stories of what happened are different, who should be believed?
This is where witness testimony is beneficial. A witness may have seen who backed out first or seen the color of the traffic light that one driver was accused of running or other details that can corroborate the driver’s account of events. While this also assists in proving fault, it may also help a claims adjustor, judge, or jury know that they can trust this driver’s account over the other driver’s account because there are other people who are saying the same thing.
3. Witnesses Can Help Challenge the Other Party’s Version of Events
While proving their own version of events is important, doing so often requires challenging the other driver’s version of events. Simply stating what they believe occurred is not necessarily enough to persuade a judge or claims adjustor that the individual’s version is accurate or true. Instead, they must be able to provide evidence that casts doubt on the other driver’s account of what happened.
Witnesses can do this. By offering their objective observations of the accident, they can offer testimony that challenges the other driver’s version of events. Witnesses who were not involved in the car accident are usually considered unbiased, which can strengthen a victim’s claim. Even if the witness was in the victim’s car, they can testify about what the victim did or did not do, such as looking behind them before backing out of a space or being fully stopped for more than a minute at a red traffic light. This can also be crucial for challenging the other driver’s testimony.
3. Witnesses Can Bring Objectivity to Accident Cases
Both drivers may determine that the other driver is at fault for the accident, but their observations are likely to be subjective. They only know what they may have seen and felt from inside the vehicle. Being involved in an accident can spike adrenaline and cortisol, making the individual anxious and stressed, both of which can also affect a person’s memory and judgment of what happened.
Witnesses are outside observers. With nothing to lose or gain, they can provide objective observations and, often, a broader picture of events than the drivers of the vehicles. These objective observations may provide greater insight into what happened than either driver’s account of events.
How May Witnesses be Discredited?
Anything to do with the witness’s character trait of truthfulness, or untruthfulness, can immediately increase or decrease their credibility. The witness’s criminal history, legal history, and reputation will all play a part in your adversary trying to discredit your third-party witness.
Determining the Relevance of a Witness’s Statement
Everything that the witness says and possibly certain aspects of their life and history will be scrutinized by competent counsel to protect their client’s own interests. If the witness was intoxicated at the time of the accident or suffered from any form of sensory deprivation (blindness, deafness, etc.), your adversary will highlight this to discredit their personal account of the accident.
What Will Witnesses Be Questioned About?
Third-party witnesses will always be questioned about their account of the accident. They will be asked when, where, what, why, and how. They will be questioned on their senses, as well as if they were under the influence that could have affected their senses. Witnesses will be questioned on the timeline of the events they witnessed because it is common that third-party witnesses may have forgotten something. Having an experienced attorney to coach your third-party witness through cross-examination is absolutely crucial to succeeding in your claim.
The Unique Value of Witness Testimony in Accidents
There is a lot of evidence in a car accident. Skid marks, vehicle damage, accident reports from law enforcement, medical reports from first responders and other medical professionals, photos of the accident scene, and video footage from security, traffic, or doorbell cameras are just a few of the pieces of evidence that may be available in an accident.
However, all of these may be interpreted in different ways. Witness testimony can only be heard as what it is: what the witness saw. Therefore, witnesses can be a crucial part of an individual’s claim after a car accident or any other kind of accident.
Why Should I use a Witness Statement as Evidence in My Injury Case?
Insurance adjusters, as stated above, are not always acting in your best interest. Though they are hired by your insurance company, their immediate interest and loyalty is to their employer. They determine fault by what they perceive to be the circumstances of the accident. If it is determined that you are at-fault, they will not fairly compensate you, and you will be forced to sue. Having a third-party witness on your side will prevent this, or it will help you prevail in a later lawsuit against the culpable party.
Third-party witness statements can also refute the testimony of other witnesses in your case. If your witness is determined to be more credible than the other side’s witness, your witness’s testimony will be given more weight than the other witness’s testimony.
Contact Our Trenton Personal Injury Lawyers for Assistance Handling Witness Accounts in Your Accident Case
An experienced personal injury attorney at Cohen & Riechelson can only benefit you in handling your third-party witness. Since witnesses do not typically think that they will be needed in court and what they are currently witnessing is extremely important, our lawyers will help develop a timeline by drawing out facts from the witness in preparation for the trial. We use this as valuable fuel to add to the fire of the case we build for the highest possible damages after your accident throughout Mercer County and surrounding areas in New Jersey, including Lawrence, Burlington, Princeton, and Willingboro among other towns. For a free case review from our trusted injury lawyers today, call us at 609-528-2596.
